Things got too much. Life was feeling hard. You know when you go through those times where it feels like it’s just one thing after another? Looking back now, I sort of feel I was being melodramatic. Yeah, we’ve had a trying couple of weeks, but overall coming out the other side of it I see now everything is how it should be. Things have a funny way of working out like that.

Self-care is so important when you feel like that, the problem is you don’t often feel the energy for it. Luckily for me, I’d received a beautiful package from Valley Mill. Containing a natural sox wax candle and a 100% natural soap. It was a little bit of calm through the storm.

The soap containing only the good stuff, made me feel like I was taking care of my body by not putting a load of toxic chemicals on my skin and the candle was the perfect way to hygge. It couldn’t have come at a better time. I opened the package and it all smelt divine. A package has never smelt so heavenly.

The soap was Bergamot & Basil which is probably an enquired preference, but one I knew I’d love. I’d previously spoken to Valley Mill and mentioned that I once had a Bergamot and Garden Mint hand cream that I adored the fragrance of so I thought a Bergamot & Basil soap would be something I’d love the scent of too.

I was right. It smells so fresh and energising and sometimes we need a little bit of an uplifting vibe. The 9-year-old liked it too, mainly because she thought it looked like a chocolate bar. I’m not sure I agree, but you know it’s never worth arguing with a 9-year-old.

My favourite though was without a doubt the candle. I had one of the new fragrances, Cwtch Violets. They recently had to change their recipes for the candles after one of the main soy ingredients they used became no longer available. I read about it here and was impressed with how they overcame the situation and used it as an opportunity to try new recipes and make the candles even better.

I love using soy candles because unlike most candles which we know burning isn’t always in the best interests of our health, I don’t have that worry using natural soy wax based candles.

As you can imagine it smelt of violets and I loved it. Having hay fever it’s nice to be able to get a Spring/Summer vibe without the suffering. I can’t find anything I don’t like about the candle, I’ve never had a candle like it.

Maybe I’m just behind the times, but it has a wooden wick. I’ve never ever had this before and it made me fall in love with it. You know that lovely noise an open fire makes? Well due to the little wood wick, you get a really subtle whisper of the same and you know for me it’s the little things. It was total hygge.

Also, it’s annoying candles don’t have a full pool melt and you end up with the middle going down and not the rest, well you don’t get that. No wax is wasted. I just love that about it.

Through a challenging week, I used this candle every day as I little bit of self-care. I don’t know if this is just me, but there is something about a candle that sets a better tone. It’s like you’re making an effort with your environment and I’m a huge advocate of the fact your environment really affects your mood.

The candle also comes with a little Welsh slate to put it on which was a lovely little touch. The candles are hand poured in Wales and I just can’t fault this little Welsh company. I’m a total Valley Mill lover now and would definitely recommend both of these products.

The candle comes with a 60 hour burn time and costs £16.95, which if you’ve ever bought a high-quality soy candle you’ll know that’s really reasonable and the soap is £4.40. Again a good price for a soap that’s handmade and natural. Containing ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter.

If you fancy trying any of the products or simply fancy a browse to see what other products Valley Mill offers then you can click here to see their website.

Disclaimer: Valley Mill sent me these products in exchange for a review. All opinions as always are my own.

I’m Kirsty Dee a wellness advocate. I'm not the super clean eating type, more the you should love yourself type. Kinda like junk food, forever wishing avocado didn't make me sad. So if your looking for real honest wellness with a bit of a woo-woo spiritual vibe to it then I've gotcha. I'll be pushing you to rise because that's what I do. Welcome to my corner of the internet 🧡

MY STORY

I started this blog as a place to share my wellness journey and it grew to become a place where I could help women learn to love themselves and Choose To Rise.My passion comes because I didn’t love myself, in fact, I didn’t like myself. I was CONTINUE READING…

Search

BOOK TICKETS

Choose To Rise One To One Sessions

Proud Creator Of

Top 3 Viewed Pages Today

BLOG POSTS

YOUTUBE

#ChooseToRiseBox

6 months agoLooking after my skin with natural skincare is a big passion of mine. Nothing says self-care like taking the time to look after yourself inside and out. Natural skincare means I know what's going into my body, I know what my skin is absorbing and I'm a true believer that nothing beats the power of plants. Today's routine includes using my Northern Soap from @naturasiberica_uk it's something I use for deep cleanse once a week and after the festival last weekend it was desperately needed and overdue. Now my skin feels fresh again and because I can't keep all the

6 months agoThe cutest candle award goes to the @lymebay travel size candle found in your Choose To Rise Box. Made from 100% soy wax and beautiful natural ingredients like the sweetness of cider apples and the juice of wild berries. These candles are hand poured on the Jurassic coast of England and have a wooden wick for all your hygge feels. Best of all it smells delicious with such a happy, uplifting, fresh scent having a mid note of bergamot.There is something very therapeutic about lighting a candle and setting your ambience. Very proud to have this gem in the box,

3 months agoGotta get that shot There is so much that goes into bringing these boxes to light from sourcing the right products, finding brands who's ethics I like to creating audios and doing photoshoots. There is quite some work involved going from idea to execution and once upon a time I'd of doubted my abilities to pull it off. Now we are heading closer to 2019 and I have so many ideas to grow the Choose To Rise concept further and it brings me all the vibes. For anyone that chooses to rise with me and goes after what they want

3 months agoProud to say that the Autumn/Winter Choose To Rise box is now out. I took on board all your feedback from the last one. This one is cruelty-free and now fully vegan too, it's more affordable and includes a few beverages and chocolate, because apparently we need chocolate I hope you love it as much as I do. It also comes with a mystery item, not photoed because I don't want to ruin the suprise and you'll also be able to enjoy the brand new audio series which I'm so frigging proud of. Thank you all for supporting me to

3 months agoLet’s give this self care thing a try for #adventchallenge . I am combining days 6 and 7 of the @theselflovesummit@iammelwells self love advent challenge by indulging in a nice warm bath as quality time for me - this is something I rarely do but now I’m wondering why not! I love long hot showers but I forgot how relaxing a bath feels and is just the thing to wind down with after a hectic week of plans and prep, school nativities and Christmas parties and it’s only the beginning of December . I feel like I have this limiting